Extraordinary Genius

“What?!” Zhang Ruiqiang was shocked when he heard that the Soviet Union will be disintegrating.

He knew about the situation in the Soviet Union, and many allied countries, including Russia, had announced that they want to leave the Soviet Union. But these countries did not succeed yet. For some countries, it was not the country’s leader that made this announcement, and other nations did not recognize their claims.

Furthermore, the Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev was still around, and it was impossible for the Soviet Union to disintegrate. Although Yeltsin was back in power, he was not the President of Russia yet, and Mikhail Gorbachev could fire him the second time!

Did Feng Yu get this information from the Soviet Union or did he made this up to escape punishment?

“Mayor Zhang? You don’t believe me?”

“You know what you are saying? How can the Soviet Union disintegrate? Once the Soviet Union disintegrated, many allied countries’ economies will collapse. They will never agree for the Soviet Union to be disintegrated!”

There were two voices in the country now. One group felt that since Russia had declared independence, then the Soviet Union will inevitably collapse. Although the Soviet Union had not disintegrated now, it was only a matter of time. Soon, it will be crumbled as the Soviet Union’s economy cannot support such a big alliance.

There was another group of people who felt that it was impossible for the disintegration to happen. They felt that Mikhail Gorbachev will stabilize the Soviet Union and he had the power to do so. After all, many military generals had supported him.

Once the Soviet Union was disintegrated, what would happen to so many allied countries’ economies? The Soviet Union had failed in all their reforms, and many allied countries’ economies were mostly isolated. If there was no more Soviet Union, what will those allied countries depend on?

The allied countries have to depend on what they produce to survive? Some of those countries don’t even have the basic necessities and what would happen if the country’s export runs into some problems? That country’s economy will collapse.

Those allied countries military will surely support Mikhail Gorbachev to prevent the Soviet Union from disintegrating. Yeltsin, who was an advocate of Russia’s independence will be punished for sure!

Zhang Ruiqiang had considered scenarios and the also could not forecast what would happen. Both situations might occur.

If Feng Yu had said that the Soviet Union might disintegrate, he might believe. But Feng Yu was adamant that the Soviet Union will dissolve next year. He felt that this was not possible. How can this happen so fast?

“Mayor Zhang, you should know that I have some friends in the Soviet Union. From me buying aircraft from the Soviet Union, you should have guessed that one of my friends is the son of a military officer. Now, cracks had already appeared in the Soviet Union Government. Some are supporting President Mikhail Gorbachev, and they wanted status quo. But the Soviet Union citizens might not want that. Some wanted a new leader, and Yeltsin’s voice was the loudest. There is still another group that felt there’s no way for the Soviet Union to recover and should be disintegrated.”

“Currently, Mikhail Gorbachev is losing his supporters. Everyone can see that all the reforms proposed by Mikhail Gorbachev had failed. Our country’s reforms had used the Soviet Union’s reforms as a reference. Many problems have surfaced with our reforms. The Soviet Union’s industrial developments were not well planned. They had emphasized a lot on the heavy industries, and most of the light industries were sidelined. Now, we had already caught up with their light industries. Soon, we will overtake them. Do you think that people in the past will believe that this would happen?”

“Also, the Soviet Union’s overall economy has nothing except for industrial/ their main income is from the sales of their natural resources! Yeltsin was the most proactive in wanting a new leader. He had also announced Russia’s independence, and this means that he does not want the Soviet Union to exist anymore. If the Soviet Union is left with only Russia, it will be easier for Russia to recover.:

“Wait. What do you mean by the Soviet Union only have Russia left? You mean Russia will acquire other smaller allied countries?” Zhang Ruiqiang interrupted Feng Yu. He does not believe this would happen.

Feng Yu was thinking in his heart that those allied countries joining Russia really did happen in the future. But that was after Putin became the President. Now, this would never happen, and Yeltsin would never agree.

“Mayor Zhang, the Soviet Union is divided into 3 countries. The strongest is Russia, followed by Ukraine and then Belarus. Among these countries, Russia has the most land area, resources and their industrial and military installation are the most developed. If Russia can acquire the Soviet Union’s overseas resources, do you think that it can recover in a short time?”

“What? Russia wants to acquire all of the Soviet Union’s overseas resources? How can this be possible? Will the rest of the allied countries agree?” Zhang Ruiqiang thought about this. If he were Yeltsin, he would also abandon the Soviet Union. Russia alone is enough. Russia still can be one of the world’s powerful country. With the need to help other allied nations, Russia’s economy will recover within a short time.

“Mayor Zhang, this is not whether if the other countries agree or not. It depends on which country have more military prowess. Mikhail Gorbachev had already lost his control over those military leaders. All he could do was to ask for help from another country. The country must be powerful, and it must be near to the Soviet Union, as our country. So, Mikhail Gorbachev will invite our country’s leader and promised us some benefits in return for our support. This will give those oppositions an excuse because by giving us benefits, can be considered as treason!”

Zhang Ruiqiang’s hand shook. Feng Yu’s analysis was too scary. Can this really happen?

“How can you prove what you say is true?”

“After some time, our leader will visit the Soviet Union, and this will be the evidence. And those Soviet Union allied countries will try to establish diplomatic relationships with us and try to get our support. This was also what we wanted. If our neighbors are too strong, it will not be a good thing for us too.” Feng Yu said.

“Who told you all these? Your Soviet friend?” Zhang Ruiqiang stared at Feng Yu.

Feng Yu sat upright and took a sip of his tea: “These are what I heard and saw in the Soviet Union and Hong Kong.”

“Hong Kong? There are people interested in the Soviet Union politics there?”

“It’s economics. You can’t deny the fact that politics and economics are closely related. Those that study politics were to gain an advantage in the financial market. Mayor Zhang, my predictions will come true soon. If the Soviet Union is not going to disintegrate, you think I am able to get those aircraft at such low prices? Mayor Zhang, you can consider what I said. If it is me, I will be a supporter of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and when it really happens, the higherups will notice me and know that I am someone with good foresight.”

Zhang Ruiqiang was in a dilemma. He knows that if he believes in Feng Yu, this would be an opportunity for him. But he was also afraid that Feng Yu’s prediction was wrong. If Feng Yu was wrong, then his future will be gone, and his current rank will be his peak in his career.

To believe him or not?